Collating machine



Sept. 13, 1960 A. R. BUNTING COLLATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 22 19 INVENTOR.

ALWYN R. BUNTING ATTORNEYS Sept. 13, 1960 A. R. BUNTING COLLATINGMACHINE Filed May 22, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2.

d Q5 L Q (B 8 w k L INVENTOR.

0 go 0 1o ALWYN R. BUNTING 3 B BY ATTORNEYS Sept. 13, 1960 A. R. BUNTlNGCOLLATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 22,- 1959 INVENTOR.

ALWYN R. BuNTme 3. C. ATTORNEYS A. R. BUNTING COLLATING MACHINE Sept.13, 1960 Filed May 22, 1959 4. Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

ALWYN R. BUNTING ATTORNEYS.

United States PatentO COLLATING MACHINE Alwyn R. Bunting, 214 80th St.,Virginia Beach, Va.

Filed May 22, 1959, Ser. No. 815,236

24 Claims. (Cl. 27058) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalities thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to a collating machine and more particularly to amachine for collating a plurality of sets of paper at one time.

In accordance with prior art practice, collator machines are generallyadapted to collate or collect, only one set of sheets or papers at atime, as for example several sequentially arranged mimeographed sheets,and therefore require the removal of a completed set from a collectionbasket or the like prior to assembling together of a subsequent set ofpapers. In addition, prior art devices frequently make use of airpressure or suction means for sequentially removing sheets from a stackprior to feeding to a collection basket, which naturally requires asource of air pressure or vacuum, the need for which is eliminated inthe instant invention. Furthermore, most prior art devices are extremelycomplicated and expensive to construct, particularly where the machineis adapted for automatic collation without the aid of hand feedingmethods.

In accordance with the instant invention, the collator comprises arotary ferris-wheel-like drum including a plurality of trays, each ofwhich is adapted to hold a stack of sheets of the same page number. Forexample, the trays are numbered, and respectively contain a plurality ofpages 1, pages 2, pages 3, etc. which are adapted to be assembledtogether to form a set of mimeographed or printed sheets where in eachset, the pages are sequentially arranged. The instant apparatus includesa means for feeding the aforementioned stacked sheets sequentially to aplurality of collecting baskets in such a manner that the sheets aresequentially fed into each of the baskets so as to form a number of setsof sequentially arranged pages corresponding to the number of collectionbaskets utilized. The collection baskets are arranged to movetransversely of the trays in such manner that the sheets aresequentially fed from the trays into the baskets so that a plurality ofsets are collected in the baskets, one set per basket. It is pointed outthat certain of the trays may contain colored separation sheets so thatthe machine may be operated continually whereby more than one set may becollected in each basket. Thus the instant invention, unlike the priorart collator machines, is adapted to collate and collect several sets ofsheets rather than only one set. in addition, the instant apparatus isrelatively simple in construction and fool proof in operation, beingcomparativelyIihbxpensive to construct, operate and maintain; inaddition to which, the instant apparatus does not require the use of anair pressure or vacuum means to separate the sheets in the trays priorto feeding into the collection baskets.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a collatormachine adapted to overcome the inherent disadvantages found in theprior art.

2,952,456 Patented Sept. 13, 1960 Another object of this invention is toprovide a new and improved collating machine having means forsimultaneously collating and collecting a plurality of sets ofsequentially numbered sheets of paper.

Still another object of this invention. is to provide a new and improvedcollating machine adapted to simultaneously collate and store aplurality of identical sets of sequentially numbered sheets of paper atone time.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational view, partially broken away, of the collatorproduced in accordance with the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view, partially broken away, of aportion of the structure shown in Fig. l, at an advanced operativeposition;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, partially broken away, of aportion of the structure shown at the left hand side of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the instant invention looking atthe left hand side of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the instant invention looking atthe right-hand side of the structure shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view, partially broken away, of a portion of thestructure shown in the broken away sec tion in Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig; 8; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan view, partially broken away, of theuppermost double-lead-screw shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in Fig. 1 an elevational view of the overall structure ofa collator .20 constructed in accordance with the instant invention. Thecollator 20 includes a main input drive shaft 22 havingdouble-lead-screw threads cut in its surface. The shaft 22 is rotatablymounted at its opposite ends in a pair of bearings 24 and 26, and islocated beneath a horizontal platform 28 which has a pair of tracks 30fixedly mounted thereon, A carriage 32 is slidably mounted on the tracks30 and is reciprocably driven, through a connection hereinafterdescribed, by the double lead-screw 22. The carriage 32 has an open topcontainer 34 reciprocably mounted on its upper surface, said container34 having a pair of dovetail tongues 36 in slidable connection with likeshaped grooves in the upper surface of the carriage 32. It is pointedout that the container 34 is divided in four compartments 35 in. theinstant embodiment of the invention, said compartments beingdesignatedjin the drawings by the letters A, B, C and D.

The carriage 32 and container 34 are adapted to move past a rotatable,ferris-wheel-like drum 38 having circumferentially mounted thereon aplurality of platforms 40 each of which is divided into compartmentsortrays 42 equal in number to the number of compartments 35, and each isadapted to hold a stack of sheets of paper. In a manner hereinafterdescribed, the circumferentially spaced platforms 40 are held in ahorizontal plane at all times during rotation of the drum 38. Eachplatform 40 temporarily comes to rest in a position juxtaposed with theupper edge of the movable container 34 so that individual sheets ofpaper may be fed from the trays 42 intoa plurality of correspondingcompartments 35 in the movable riage 32 is adapted to move transverselyof the rotary drum 38, momentarily coming to rest before each of thetrays 42 'in a juxtaposed platform so that the top sheet in eachof thetrays may be fed from said trays into the corresponding compartments 35in the container 34.

It is pointed out that the container 34 is provided with alongitudinally extending plate 43, at the side of the container nearestthe platforms 40. The plate 43 has its opposite ends fixed to therespective ends of the container 34, and has its lower face downwardlyinclined toward the respective compartments 35. The lower face of theplate 43 is spaced from the upper edge of each of the compartments 35 toform, with said upper edge, a chute that is directed toward saidcompartments, said chute being adapted to receive each sheet of paperfed from a tray 42 toward a compartment 35 and direct said sheet intosaid compartment.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, it is pointed out thatthe double lead-screw 22 is provided with a pair of spiral grooves 44and 45 in the manner of a con-.

ventional double lead-screw. The carriage 32 is provided with runners 46on its lower surface slidably mounted on the tracks 30.

In addition, the carriage 32 is provided with a downwardly extendingbracket 48 having a hole extending through the lower end thereof throughwhich the double lead-screw 22 passes. The bracket 48 is provided with afollower 50 rotatably mounted in the bracket and having an elongatedinner end portion that rides in the grooves in the double lead screw 22.Thus, assuming that the follower 50 is in the groove 44, when the leadscrew 22 is rotated in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig.6, rotation of said lead screw causes thebracket 48 and the carriage 32to be fed from right to left, as viewed in Fig. 1, assuming that saidcarriage started from the extreme right hand position. Continuingrotation of the lead screw 22 causes the carriage 32 to be fed along thetracks 30 until the follower 50 reaches a curved reversal portion 52 atthe left hand end of the groove 44, at which time continuedcounterclockwise rotation of the lead screw.22 causes entry of thefollower 50 into the groove 45 with an ensuing reversal in movement ofthe carriage 32.

Extending beneath the carriage, and parallel to the double lead-screw22, is a single thread lead-screw 54 having its opposite ends fixedlymounted in a pair of brackets 56, and having a single spiral groove 55in its surface. The single lead screw extends through a hole provided ineach of a downwardly extending pair of brackets 58 fixedly connected tothe underside of the carriage 32, and through a cylindrical cam 60located between said brackets. The cam 60 is rotatably mounted on thefixed single lead screw 54 and has a cam groove 62 in the surfacethereof of the type shown in Figs. 7-9. The opposite ends of the cam 60are bearing journaled in the brackets 58, as shown in Fig. 9. Rotationof the cam is brought about by means of the interaction of a follower 64fixedly attached to said cam and having the end there through extendinginto the spiral groove 55 formed in the lead-screw 54, so that as thecarriage 32 is moved relative to the tracks 30 and thus relative to thesingle lead-screw 54, such movement of the carriage causes rota- -tionof the cam 60 by interaction of the groove 55 and the follower 64 on theinterior of said cam 60. 7

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9, the underside of the container 34is provided with a fixed downwardly extending stud 66. The stud 66 ismovable within a slot 68 formedrin the carriage 32 and has its lowermostend located within the groove 62 in the rotary cam 60 so that rotationof the cam, which comes about as a resultof the translation of thecarriage 32, causes a periodic sliding extending stud 66, slidingmovement of the carriage 32,

assuming that the carriage is moving from right to left as viewed inFig. 1, will cause clockwise rotation of the cam 60, as viewed from theright hand side of Fig. 1 when the cam groove 62 and the follower 66 arein the positions shown in Fig. 1. Continuing clockwise rotation of thecam will cause the container 34 to be moved relative to the carriage 32,said carriage continuing its movement at all times. r

When the groove 62 and follower 66 reach the relative position shown inFigs. 2 and 7 thru 9, further movement of the carriage 32 toward theleft, and ensuring clockwise rotation of the cam 60, causes the follower66 to move,

in effect, lengthwise of the cam from left to right, as viewed in Figs.7-9, so that the container 34 remains stationary relative to the rotarydrum 38, and moves toward the right relative to the carriage 32. Thecontainer 34 remains in this stationary position until the lowermost endof the cam groove 62, as viewed in Fig. 7 reaches'its uppermostposition, as shown in Fig. 1, at which time further rotation of the cam60 results in a movement of the container 34 toward the left relative tothe carriage 32 and the rotary drum 38. The driving elements of theinstant collator are so proportioned that the carriage 32 is adapted toslide at all times, while the container 34 is adapted to come to atemporary halt, at predetermined intervals of time, in front ofsuccessive trays 42 in each of the platforms 40, at which time, in themanner hereinafter movement of the container 34 relative to saidcarriage. i

described, the topmost sheet of paper in each of the trays 42 is adaptedto befed into a corresponding compartment 35 in the container 34, afterwhich the carriage 32 and container proceed to move relative to the drum38, from for example the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shownin Fig. 2, at which time there is another period of dwell and anotherset of papers is fed into the compartments 35.

The exact manner in which the sheets are sequentially fed from the trays42 into the compartments 35 so as to arrange the papers in the properorder, will be hereinafter described in greater detail.

A second double lead-screw 70, having cam grooves 72 and 74 cut in thesurface thereof, is located above the horizontal platform 28 and tracks30 in parallel relation therewith, and has its opposite ends fixedlymounted in a pair of brackets 76. The carriage 32 is provided at itsleft hand end, as viewed in Fig. 1, with an outwardly extendinghorizontal bracket 78 having a vertical bracket 80 attached thereto andextending upwardly therefrom. The horizontal bracket 78 is also providedwith a downwardly extending U-shaped clamp element 82 having itsopposite ends bolted to said horizontal bracket. The U-shaped clamp 82,in conjunction with the arcuate lower edge of the upwardly extendingbracket 80 serve to clamp the outer race 84 of a ball bearing '86 infixed relation ternatively slidably mounted in the cam grooves 72 and 74in the stationary double lead-screw 70. The double lead-screw isprovided at each of its ends with an enlarged cam followerturning-groove 96. When the follower 94 reaches the left hand end of thecam groove 74, as shown in Fig. 10, there will be a camming or turningaction of said follower 92 brought about by interaction of thelaterally-extending portion 94 on the follower, and an apex 98 at thepoint of intersection of the cam grooves Hand 74. The laterallyextending portion 94 is allowed to swing in a clockwise direction in theenlarged cam groove 96, and when the direction of movement of thecarriage is reversed so as to move to the right, by interaction of thecam follower 50 with the rotary double lead-screw 22, the follower 94moves from the lowermost dotted position shown in Fig. to the uppermostdotted position thus insuring movement of said cam follower into the camgroove 72 on the double lead screw 70 so that when said carriage movestoward the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the inner race of the bearingwill continue to rotate in :hfe same direction as when the carriagemoves toward the The side of the inner race 88 between said bearing andthe carriage is provided with a sprocket wheel 100 fixedly attachedthereto and adapted to rotate therewith by virtue of the interaction ofthe cam follower 92 and the grooves 72 and 74 in the double lead-screw70. The upper end of the vertical bracket 80 has a journal 102 at itsupper end having a hole extending therethrough, and having a shaft 104rotatably and laterally slidably mounted therein. The uppermost end ofthe vertical bracket 80 also is provided with a fixedly mounted,laterally, inwardly extending finger 106 having a downwardly extendingdetent 108 at its outer end, said detent being in restraining contactwith a rotatable bushing 110, and riding in a peripheral groove 112 inthe surface of said bushing. The bushing 110 is provided with an axiallyextending hole through its center; the hole is round throughout most ofits circumference but is provided with a fiat or chord-like portion andthe portion of the shaft 104 extending through said hole is providedwith a fiat portion extending for a substantial part of its length thatis located between the vertical bracket 80 and the container '34. Theflat portion of the shaft 104 is in contact with the fiat portion of thehole in the rotary bushing 110 so that rotation of said bushing causesrotation of the shaft 104, while at the same time said shaft is adaptedto slide laterally of said bushing 110, for purposes hereinafterdescribed. The rotary bushing is provided at one side with a fixedlymounted sprocket Wheel 114, and a chain 116 extends around said sprocketwheel 114 and the sprocket wheel 100 on the rotary race 88 so thatrotation of said race causes rotation of the rotary bushing 110 and theshaft 104. t

The rotary shaft 104 is supported adjacent its right hand end by anoutwardly extending bracket 118 affixed to the container 34, the upperend of the bracket having a hole therein for said shaft through whichthe shaft passes. The extreme right hand end of the shaft 104 is inabutment with the left hand side of the container 34 so as to preventright hand movement of said shaft relative to said container. Betweenthe bracket 118 and the container 34 the shaft 104 has a small sprocketwheel 120 fixedly mounted thereon for rotation therewith the left handside of said sprocket wheel being in abutment with the right hand faceof the bracket 118 so as to prevent left hand movement of the shaft 104relative to the bracket. Thus, by virtue of the spacial arrangementbetween the small sprocket wheel 120, the bracket 118 and the left handface of the container 34, lateral movement of the shaft relative to thecontainer is prevented, but when said container moves relative to thecarriage 32 it will in turn cause lateral movement of the shaft 104relative to the vertical bracket 80 and the large sprocket wheel 114associated with said bracket. Accordingly, when the container 34 movesrelative to the carriage 32,

in the manner described in the above paragraphs, the

shaft 104 is free to slide laterally of the vertical bracket 80, but atthe same time, due to the flat portion on said shaft and on the interiorof the rotary bushing 110, said shaft will continue to rotate at alltimes.

The upper side of the container 34 is provided with a pair of upwardlyand forwardly extending arms 122 and 124 that extend towards the rotarydrum 3 8, and a rotary shaft 126 is mounted in bearings providedadjacent the respective upper extremities of said arms. At the left handend of the rotary shaft 126 there is fixedly mounted a'small sprocketwheel 128. A chain 130 connects the two small sprocket wheels 120 and128 so that rotation of the inner bearing race 88 accordingly causesrotation of the large sprocket wheels and 114, the two smaller sprocketwheels and 128, and thus the rotary shaft 126 at the upper side of thecontainer 34.- Rotation of the shaft 126 causes rotation of a pluralityof resilient feed fingers 132 made of metal or the like and having theirinnermost ends fixedly connected tosaid shaft, and having theiroutermost ends provided with a frictional material 134 such as rubber orthe like. The tips 134 of the fingers 132 are adapted to come in contactwith the top most sheet in the trays 42 so that rotation of the shaft126 causes feeding of said topmost sheet into a correspondingcompartment 35 in the container 34. The fingers are of such resiliencythat they will continue to feed sheets of paper from the traysregardless of the number of sheets contained therein, including the lastsheet in each tray.

Referring in more detail to the arrangement of the platforms 40, it ispointed out that each of the platforms has a shaft 136 afiixed to theunderside thereof and having its opposite ends extending outwardly fromthe platform at each end of the platform. The respective ends of eachshaft 136are pivotly mounted around the periphery of a right hand disc138, and a left hand disc 140, said discs being parallel to one another.The right and left hand discs 138 and 140 are fixedly connected to atubular member 142 that is fixed to a rotary shaft 144 that is rotatablycarried at its opposite end in a right hand bracket 146 and a left handbracket 148, see Figs. 1 and 2 for example. At the right hand side ofthe drum 38 (see Figs. 2 and 6'), each of the ends of the shafts 136that is rotatably mounted in the disc 138 is provided with a connectingam 150 having one end fixedly connected to the shaft 136, and the otherend thereof pivotly connected by a pin 152 to a third disc 154, adjacentthe periphery of said disc. The disc 154 is rotatably mounted about abushing 156 afiixed to the right hand bracket 146, the center of saidbushing being the axis of rotation of said third disc 154, which in asense can be described as a cam disc. The respective points ofconnection 152 between the outermost end of the connecting arms 150 areequally spaced from the axis of rotation of the cam disc 154. .It ishowever emphasized that the axis of rotation of the cam disc is offset,downwardly and toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 6, from the axis ofrotation of the shaft 144; the distance of displacement being equal tothe distance between the respective axis of rotation at the oppositeends of each connecting arm. It is emphasized that the distances betweenthe. pivotal connection of the respective connecting arms 150 to the camdisc 154, and the center of rotation of said cam disc are all equal andare located on radii of said disc, thus causing the connecting arms tobe parallel to one another at all times.

By virtue of the manner in which the connecting arm 150 are connected attheir respective ends to the respective platforms 40 and the cam disc154, the axis of which is offset from the axis of rotation of the drum38, said arms are always parallel to one another and therefore once theplatforms 40 are each placed in a horizontal plane, they will remain insuch a plane as they are rotated about the axis of the shaft 144.

Referring to Figs. 2, 4 and 6, there is shown a U-shaped lever 158having rearward arms 159 and 161 pivotly connected to the right and lefthand supporting brackets 146 and 148 by pivotal connections and 162respectively at the right and left hand ends of the lever 158. Attachedto the arm 159 there is a fixedly attached, downwardly extending supportmember 164 having a stud,.or cam follower 166 rotatably carried thereon,which stud 166 extends toward the carriage 32. On the arm 161 there isprovided a rotatable, outwardly and downwardly extending stud, or camfollower 168 located in a plane higher than the right end stud 166, butlike stud 166 extending toward the carriage 32. Downward movement of theU-shaped lever 158 is prevented by a stop member 170 fixed to the baseof the apparatus and extending about its left hand pivot 200.

upwardly to stop the U-shaped lever in its downward movement.

Referring in detail to Fig. 4, the rearward arm 161 on the U-shapedlever 158 is provided with an upwardly extending arm 172 spaced from andsubstantially parallel to the rotary drum supporting bracket 148. Theupwardly extending arm 172 is provided with a laterally extending finger174 afiixed thereto and extending toward the verti cal bracket 148. Thefinger 174 is adapted, upon upward movement of the forward end of theU-shaped lever, to contact and turn in a counter-clockwise direction arearwardly extending finger 176 fixedly attached to a lever 178pivotally connected to the rotary shaft 144. The rotary lever 178 isprovided at its upper end with a rotatable pawl '180 the free end ofwhich is adapted to extend between adjacent teeth on what can bedescribed as a ratchet wheel 182 fixedly attached to therotary shaft144. Adjacent the opposite end of the rotary lever 178 there is afiixedone end of a coil spring 184, and the other end of the coil spring isattached to the base of the apparatus, said coil spring tending torotate the lever about its axis in a clockwise direction, as viewed inFig. 4. Clockwise rotation of the rotary lever 178 is arrested by astopdetent 186 attached to the base of the machine and extendingupwardly into the path of movement of an offset arm 188 provided at thelower end of the rotary lever. Free rotation of the ratchet wheel, andthus the rotary shaft 144 and the platform 40 earring means is preventedby a spring pressed ball member 190 adapted to fit between adjacentteeth of the ratchet wheel 182, the ball 190 being biased by a coilspring 192 contained within a carrier 194 connected to the supportingbracket 148.

I Thus if the forward end, or bight portion, of the U- shaped lever 158is pivoted upwardly, the cam finger 174 .on said U-shaped lever willpush downwardly n the .rearwardly extending finger 176 causingcounterclockwise rotation of the rotary lever 178. Counterclockwiserota- 'tion of the lever 178 and its attached pawl 180 will be from theposition shown in solid lines in Fig.- 4 to the position shown in dottedlines, with the result that the pawl moves over the top of a ratchettooth and then drops downinto the space just behind said tooth. Thenwhen the right hand end of the U-shaped lever is released, the action-ofthe coil spring 184 upon the rotary lever 178 causes clockwise rotationof said lever, thereby causing the pawl 180 to turn the ratchet wheel182 in a clockwise direction which of course causes rotation of therotary shaft 144, to which the ratchet wheel is attached, and alsorotation of the platform supporting members 138 and 140. The elementsare so proportioned that the ratchet wheel is rotated against therestraining action of the spring biased ball 190, a distance sufficientto bring the next higher platform into alignment with the upper edge ofthe paper receiving container 34 so that the papers in said nextplatform may be fed into said container.

In order to clearly understand the manner in which the bight portion ofthe U-shaped lever 158 is raised, reference should be had to Figs. 4, 5and 6. The rearmost face "of the carriage 32 has attached thereto a pairof cam .plates and more specifically an upper cam plate 196 and a lowercamplate 198. The upper cam plate 196, as

,viewed in Fig. 5, has its left hand end pivotly connected to the rearof the carriage 32 by a pin 200, and has a rearwardly extending,inclined cam track 202 adjacent its lower edge. The right hand end ofthe upper cam plate .196 is provided with an outward extension 204, thelower edge of-which is normally in abutment with a stop detent 206adapted to prevent clockwise rotation of the cam plate 'The lowermostcam plate 198 is pivotly connected at ':its right hand end to the rearside of the carriage 32 .by a pin 206. The lower edge of the cam plate198 ,is' provided with a rearwardly extending, inclined cam track 208that slopes downwardly and to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5. The"lefthand 'end of the lower cam plate 198 is provided with an outwardexte'nsion210,

the lower edge of which abuts a stop detent 212 adapted to preventcounterclockwise rotation of the cam plate.

The cam track 202 on the cam plate 196 is adapted to come in contactwith the follower stud 168 at the left hand side of the U-shapedlever158 as the carriage moves towards the left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2.As movement of the carriage 32 proceeds, the follower stud 168 is movedupwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, until the carriage moves adistance sufficient for said follower stud to drop free in a downwarddirection from the left hand edge of the cam track 202(see Fig, 5). Theupward movement of the follower stud 168 causes counterclockwiserotation of the U-shaped lever 158 with an ensuing like rotation of therotary lever 178 and backward movement of the pawl 180 so that the pawlfalls into a rearward space, to the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 4, all as set forth above. When the follower stud 168 drops free ofthe upper edge of the cam track 202, the U-shaped lever drops downwardlywith the ensuing effect that the coil spring 184 causes clockwiserotation of the rotary lever 178 and the pawl 180 then forces theratchet wheel 182 to turn in a clockwise direction, a distancesufficient to bring the next uppermost platform 40 into alignment withthe upper edge of the sheet receiving container 34. At this point thecarriage reverses its movement, through the interactions of the follower50 and the double lead screw 22, and starts to move toward the right.Move ment continues a point where the right hand follower stud 166 onthe U-shaped lever 158 contacts the cam track 208 on the lower cam plate198, and as the carriage continues to move toward the right saidfollower stud is moved in an upward direction by the cam track 208 untilit reaches the end of said track, at which time it drops down, causingthe platform car'- rying apparatus to rotate clockwise, as viewed inFig. 4, bringing the next uppermost platform 40 into alignment with theupper edge of the sheet receiving container 34, in much the same mannerthat the action of the uppermost cam track 196 causes rotation of theplatform carrying drum 38 in the manner set forth above. Thus theplatform carrying apparatus is caused to rotate a distance sufiicient tobring the next uppermost platform into alignment with the upper edge ofthe sheet receiving container as the carriage 32 reaches the respectiveends of said platforms.

It is pointed out that each of the cam plates 1% and 198 is pivotlymounted adjacent one of its ends so that when the carriage is reversed,just after the respective follower studs 166 and 168 on the U-shapedlever drop off the uppermost end of the respective cam tracks, saidfollower studs are allowed to pass freely beneath the cam track fromwhich it has just dropped by camming said track upwardly about therespective pivots on the cam plates.

Operation:

It is first pointed out that the trays 42 are numbered in the mannershown in Figs. 1 and 2, as for example from right to left 1, 2, 3, 4,with tray 5 being directly above tray 4, so that stacks of page 1, page2, etc., may be placed in the respective trays so numbered. With tray 1in the position shown, the carriage is moved to the extreme right handposition at which time the left band edge of the container 34 isapproximately in alignment with the right hand'disc 138 on the drum 38,

Rotation of the double lead screw 22 is then commenced, which throughthe interaction of the groove 44 in the lead screw 22 and the follower50 causes the carriage to move toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. Asthe carriage moves toward the left, the rotary cam 60 with the groove 62in its surface, is caused to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewedfrom the righthand end thereof. Rotation of the cam 60, together withmovement of the carriage 32 brings the compartment marked A'intoalignment with tray No, 1, at which time and by virtue of the relativeproportions of the various elements, all as set forth above in detail,there is a period of dwell in movement of the container 34 relative tothe platform 40 and tray No. 1, while the carriage 32 continues to movetoward the left. At the same time, through interaction of the follower92 and the groove 74 in the stationary double lead-screw 70, thesprocket wheel 100 and thus the shaft 126 are caused to rotate, saidrotation being continuous and being so timed that when compartment A isjuxtaposed to tray No. 1 the feed fingers 132 opposite compartment Arotate into contact with the topmost sheet of paper in the tray No. 1,thereby feeding said sheet into compartment A.

in Fig. 1, at which time further rotation of said rotary cam causes thecontainer 34 to be moved toward the leftas the carriage likewiseproceeds to move toward the left, but at a somewhat greater rate ofspeed until compartment A is in alignment with tray No. 2 andcompartment B is in alignment with tray No. 1. At this time the rotarycam 60 has again reached the position shown in Figs. 2 and 7-9 therebyonce again causing the slidable container 34 to dwell temporarilyrelative to the trays 1 and 2, as the carriage 32 continues to movetoward the left. The dwell interval continues for a period of time longenough for the feed fingers 132 opposite compartments A and B to proceedto feed a single topmost sheet from tray No. 1 into compartment B, and asingle sheet from tray No. 2 into the compartment A, thereby resultingin pages 1 and 2 being in compartment A and page 1 in compartment B. Theaforementioned sequence of operations continues until the compartment Dmoves to the left of tray No. 4. It is pointed out that when thecontainer 34 is being moved relative to the carriage 32, the rotaryshaft 104 slides through the bearing 102 and the bushing 110 whilecontinuously rotating, due to the flattened portion on the shaft and theinterior of the bushing 1 10.

At about the time that the compartment D starts to move to the left oftray No. 4 the follower stud 168 at the left hand side of the U-shapedlever is cammed in an upward direction by the cam track 202 on theuppermost cam plate 196. As the carriage 32 continues to move toward theleft, the stud 168 and therefore the U-shaped lever 158 are movedupwardly toward the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 until said studreaches the upper edge of the cam track 202 and drops down from saidsurface. By virtue of the structural relationship between the finger 174on the upwardly extending arm 172 and the rearwardly extending finger176 on the rotary lever 178, said rotary lever is rotated in acounterclockwise direction as the U-shaped lever rises to the dottedline position shown in Fig. 4. When the follower stud 168 drops free ofthe cam track 202, the spring 184 causes clockwise rotation of therotary lever 178, thereby causing the pawl 180 to rotate the ratchetwheel 182 in a clockwise direction a number of degrees sufficient tobring the next platform 40 into alignment with the upper edge of thecontainer 34 so that the trays 5, 6, 7 and 8 are in alignment withsaidcontainer.

As the double lead screw 22 continues to rotate, the direction ofmovement of the carriage 32 is reversed as the follower 50 moves throughthe are at the left hand end of the double lead screw 22 and enters thegroove 45 and the carriage feeding process continues with thecompartment D temporarily stopping in front of tray No. so that a singlepage 5 may be fed into said compartment on top of pages l-4 alreadycontained therein. As the carriage 32 continues to move toward theright, the sheet feeding operations are repeated during the momentaryperiodsof dwell on the part of the container in front of the respectivetrays, said dwell being brought about by virtue of the structuralelements described above.

It is pointed out that as the carriage movement is reversed, the camfollower foot 94 on the arm leaves the cam groove 74, turns and entersthe groove 72, so that the direction of rotation of the sprocket wheeland thus the feed fingers 132 remain the same even though the directionof carriage movement is reversed.

As the compartment A passes beyond the right hand side of the disc 138,the cam plate 198 on the rear of the carriage 32 commences to cam thefollower stud 166 in an upward direction thereby causingcounterclockwise rotation of the U-shaped lever 158 (see Fig. 4). Thisof course causes rotation of the rotary lever 178 and movement of thepawl to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 so that when thefollower stud 166 drops over the upper edge of the cam track 208, thedownward movement of the U-shaped lever 158 allows the coil spring 184to rotate the rotary lever 178 clockwise, thereby causing the pawl 180to rotate the ratchet wheel 182 clockwise a sufficient distance to bringthe third platform into alignment with the upper edge of the container34, at which time the carriage 32 is reversed and the aforementionedfeeding steps are carried out from the trays 9, 10, 11 and 12.

The collating steps described in the paragraphs immediately above are ofcourse repeated until the last page of a particular set has been fedinto each of the compartments A thru D, at which time the apparatus maybe stopped and the collated sheets removed from the compartments A thruD.

In the event that it is desired to collate more than one set of papersin each of the compartments A, B, C and D, the tray 42 following the onehaving the last page of a set therein is filled with colored, separationsheets adapted to be fed, one each, into the compartments A thru D aftereach compartment has a complete set of pages collected therein. Thecollating steps described above are then repeated and thus several setsof sequentially arranged pages may be collected in each compartment A-D,and subsequent separation of the sets expedited.

It is pointed out that the sheets in each of the trays 42 are preventedfrom sticking together by providing a beveled edge 214 at the front endof each of the trays 42, whereby the stack of sheets in each tray isfeathered. In addition each of the trays may be provided with side andend adjustment members 216 to conform to the machine size, with the endadjustment member 216 being at the same angle as the beveled portion 214at the front of the tray.

It is emphasized that the combination of the flexible spring materialejector fingers 132, the frictional members 134 thereon and the stackfeathering members 214 and 216 eliminates the need for providingexpensive pickup suction cups and/or various other types of such devicesnow used in the prior art for the purposes of preventing the feeding ofmore than one sheet at a time. In addition the feeding fingers 132 bytheir very nature have a vibrating, breaking effect on the stack ofsheets in each tray thereby eliminating the problem of staticelectricity which may keep the sheets stuck together. The spring ejectorfingers 132 also eliminate the need for a vertical adjustment means ineach of the trays, since said flexible fingers adjust themselves to thethickness of the stack in said tray. Feeding of a sheet from a tray 42is further expedited by virtue of the beveled members 214 and 216.

It should be understood that while the instant embodiment of theinvention discloses only four receiver compartments A, B, C and D, and acorresponding number of trays 42 in each of the platforms 40, theinvention may be constructed so as to include a greater or lesser numberof receiver compartments and trays, being limited only by the practicalconsiderations of? space and expense. For example, these could be fourcompartments A-D and eight trays 42 per platform 40, or alternativelyeight compartments A-H and eight trays 42 per platform 40. Various othercombinations within the scope of this invention will readily occur tothose skilled in the art.

Thus the instant invention provides a foolproof collating apparatus thatis adapted to collate a plurality of sheets of paper in such a mannerthat a pluralityof sets ofsuch sheets of paper may be collectedsubstantially at one time, whereas most of the prior art devices arecapable of collating only one set at a time. In addition the operationof the instant apparatus is substantially fully automatic once operationof the apparatus is com- 'It is also pointed out that an apparatus ofthe menced. type described above will collate 200 sets of pages, 1 thru39, plus one colored separation sheet, at an estimated 12,000 sheets perhour based on a one way carriage traveling time of 5 seconds, the sizeof said sheets being 8 inches by 13 inches. It is further pointed outthat the capacity of the machine will depend largely only upon the sizeof the various compartments utilized and the speed of rotation of thedouble lead screw 22.

'It should be understood, of course that the foregoing disclosurerelates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention and thatnumerous modifications or alterations may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A collating machine comprising, a framework, a rotary carrier mountedon the frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary carrier, meansconnected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardless ofthe rotary movement of the carrier; each of said platforms being dividedinto a plurality of paper receiving trays, a carriage slidably mountedon said frame and movable transversely of said rotary carrier, a drivingmeans connected to said carriage for reciprocating said carriage alongsaid framework in front of said rotary carrier; a container having aplurality of compartments therein, said container being movably mountedon said carriage, a driving means for reciprocating said containerrelative to said carriage while said carriage moves relative to saidrotary carrier, said latter means being adapted to arrest movement ofsaid container relative to said rotary carrier for a predeterminedinterval of time when at least one of the compartments in said containeris in juxtaposed relation with one of the trays in said platform, meansfor feeding the topmost sheet of paper in each of said trays into ajuxtaposed compartment in said container when said container momentarilypauses in its movement transversely of said rotary carrier; and a meansfor rotating said rotary carrier at predetermined intervals to bring asucceeding platform into juxtaposed relation with said container.

2. A collating machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the carriagedriving means comprises a rotary double lead-screw having two oppositelyspiraled cam grooves formed in the surface thereof, and a cam-followermounted on said carriage and selectively engaged in one of said grooves,said double lead-screw having a cam-follower direction reversing grooveat the respective ends thereof, whereby said cam-follower is engaged inthe other of said grooves, whereby motion of said carriage isautomatically reversed at its extremities of movement while said doublelead-screw continues to rotate in the same direction.

' 3. A collating machine comprising, a frame, a rotary carrier mountedon the frame for rotationabout a horizontal axis, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced plat- :forms mounted on said rotary carrier,means connected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardlessof -the" rotary movement of the rotary carrier, each i game of saidplatforms being divided into a plurality of trays each of which isadapted to hold a stack of sheets of paper, a container divided into aplurality of sheet receiving compartments each of which is at least aslarge as said trays, said container being movably mounted on said frame,driving means for moving said container on said frame transversely ofsaid rotary carrier and along one edge of a juxtaposed platform,container arresting means adapted to stop movement thereof for apredetermined interval of time when at least one of said compartments isin juxtaposed position with a corresponding number of trays onsaidplatform; and sheet feeding means adapted to feed the topmost sheet ineach tray into a juxtaposed compartment in said container while saidcontainer is in stationary position before a tray, whereby the topmostsheet in each tray is adapted to be fed successively into each of saidcompartments therebylproviding a number of sheets in each compartmentequal to the number of trays in said platform.

4. A collating machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein said containerdriving means comprises a rotary cam mounted on said framework, said camhaving a cam groove in the surface thereof and extendingcircumferentially thereof, and wherein said container is provided with acam-follower having the end thereof located within said cam groove.

5. A collating machine comprising, a framework, a rotary carrier mountedon said framework for rotation about a horizontal axis,circumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary carrier, meansconnected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardless ofthe rotary movement of the carrier; each of said platforms beingsub-divided into a plurality of trays each of which is adapted to hold astack of sheets of paper, a driving means for reciprocating saidcarriage transversely of said rotary carrier, said carriage beingcontinuously movable relative to said framework and said carrier, acontainer slidably mounted on said carriage and movable relativetheretoand relative to said carrier said container being divided into a numberof compartments equal in number and size to the trays in each platform,said container being movable into a position with-its upper edge injuxtaposition with at least one of the trays in a platform, sheetfeeding means for feeding the topmost sheet in each tray into acompartment in said c0n tainer only when a compartment is injuxtaposition with a tray, a driving means for moving said containerrelative to said carriage, said driving means being adapted to arrestmovement of said container relative to a platform when at least oneofsaid compartments is in juxtaposition with at least one of said trays,whereby said feeding means may feed a topmost sheet from each tray thatis juxtaposed to a compartment into said juxtaposed compartment, saiddriving means being adapted to move said container transversely of saidplatform a distance equal to the width of one of said trays and thenarrest movement of said container until a sheet is fed from a nextsuccessive tray and those preceding trays into compartments in saidbasket that are in juxtaposition with said trays.

6. A collating machine comprising, a framework, a rotary carrier mountedon said framework for rotation about a horizontal axis, a. plurality ofcircumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary'carrier, meansconnected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardless ofthe rotary motion of the carrier, each of said platforms beingsub-divided into a plurality of trays each of which is, adapted tocontain a stack of sheets of paper, a carriage movably mounted on saidframe- :work, means for reciprocating said carriage transversely of saidrotary carrier, said latter means being adapted to move said carriagealternately beyond the respective ends of said rotary carrier and thenreverse the direction of movement thereof, a container slidably mountedon said carriage, said container being divided into a 'numbe'r of sheetreceiving compartments, driving means for reciprocating said containerrelative to said carriage, said compartments each being adapted to haveits uppermost end juxtaposed with the upper edge of said platform andeach of said compartments being of substantially the same size and shapeas the trays in said platforms, a sheet feeding means adapted tofrictionally engage and feed a topmost sheet from a tray into acompartment in said basket, means associated with said container drivingmeans for periodically arresting movement of said container relative tosaid rotary carrier when at least one of the compartments is inalignment with a like number of trays in said platform, said feedingmeans being adapted to feed a topmost sheet from a tray into acompartment when said container is in motion arrested position, saidmotion arresting means being adapted to arrest motion of said containerrelative to said carrier each time a given compartment is in juxtaposedrelation with successively arranged trays in a particular platform,whereby a plurality of sheets are adapted to be collected in a givencompartment.

7. A collating machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein said containerdriving means comprises a rotary cam mounted on said framework, said camhaving a cam groove in the surface thereof and extending circumferenti-al-ly thereof, and wherein said container is provided with a camfollower having the end thereof located within said cam groove.

8. A collating machine comprising a framework, a rotary carrier mountedon the framework for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary carrier, meansconnected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardless ofthe rotary motion of the rotary carrier, each of said platforms beingsub-divided into a plurality of trays adapted to contain a stack ofsheets of paper, a carriage movably mounted on said framework, means forcontinually reciprocating said carriage transversely of said rotarycarrier, said latter means being adapted to move said carriagealternately beyond the respective ends of said rotary carrier, acontainer mounted on said carriage, said container being sub-dividedinto a number of com- :partments, driving means for reciprocating saidcontainer relative to said carriage, the compartments in said containereach having its uppermost end adapted to be placed in juxtaposedrelation with the upper edge of said platform, each of said compartmentsbeing of substantially the; same size and shape as the trays in saidplatforms, a sheet feeding means adapted to frictionally engage and feedthe topmost sheet from a tray into a compartment in said container,means associated with said driving means for periodically arrestingmovement of said container relative to said rotary carrier when at leastone of the receptacles is in alignment with a like number of trays insaid platform, said sheet feeding means being adapted to feed a topmostsheet from a tray into a compartment when said container is in motionarrested position, said motion arresting means being adapted to arrestmotion of said container relative to said carriage each time a givencompartment is in juxtaposed relation with successively arranged traysin a particular platform, motion reversing means adapted to reverse thedirection of movement of said carriage relative to said rotary carrierafter each compartment has received a sheet from each tray, and asimultaneously operable means adapted, upon movement of said containerbeyond a side end of said rotary carrier, for rotating said carrierabout its axis a number of degrees sufficient to bring a succeedingplatform into alignment with the uppermost edge of the container,whereby a sheet is adapted to be fed into each of said compartments fromsuccessively arranged trays in a succeeding platform, thereby resultingin the assemblage of a plurality of sheets in each of said com-part--ments equal in number to the total number of trays on .said rotarycarrier.

' 9. A collating machine as set forth in claim 8 wherein said containerdriving means comprises a rotary cam mounted on said framework, said camhaving a cam groove in the surface thereof and extendingcircumferentially thereof, and wherein said container is provided with acam follower having the end thereof located within said cam groove.

10. A collating machine comprising, a framework, a rotary carriermounted on the frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, a pluralityof circumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary carrier,means connected to said platforms to maintain them horizontal regardlessof the rotary movement of the carrier; each of said platforms beingdivided into aplurality of paper receiving trays, a carriage slidablymounted on said frame and movable transversely of said rotary carrier, adriving means connected to said carriage for reciprocating said carriagealong said framework in front of said rotary carrier; a container havinga plurality of compartments therein, said container being movablymounted on said carriage, a driving means for reciprocating saidcontainer relative to said carriage while said carriage moves relativeto said rotary carrier, said latter means comprising a stationary shafthaving its opposite ends fixedly mounted on said framework, said shafthaving a spiral groove formed in the surface thereof and extendingsubstantially the length of the shaft, a cylindrical cam mounted on saidstationary shaft and having a detent fixedly mounted within an axialhole formed therethrough and extending into the groove in said shaft,said cam being held against end-wise movement relative to said carriagebetween a pair of downwardly extending spaced brackets affixed to saidcarriageand having respectively a hole formed therethrough for saidshaft to extend through, said cylindrical cam having a cam grooveformed. in the surface thereof, said container having a downwardlyextending cam follower having an end portion located within the camgroove in said cylindrical cam, whereby reciprocating movement of saidcarriage causes rotary movement of said cylindrical cam thereby causingreciprocating movement of said container relative to said carriage bythe interaction of the cam groove in said cylindrical cam and thedownwardly extending cam follower on said carriage, the groove in thesurface of said cylindrical cam being so proportioned as to causemomentary dwell of said container relative to said rotary carrier whenat least one of the compartments insaid container is in alignment with alike number of trays, in said platform, means for feeding the topmostsheet of paper in each of said trays into a juxtaposed compartment insaid container when said container momentarily pauses in its movementtransversely of said rotary carrier; and a means for rotating saidrotary carrier at predetermined intervals to bring a succeeding platforminto juxtaposed relation with said container.

11. An article dispensing device comprising, a frame, a horizontal shaftrotatably mounted on said frame, a rotary carrier fixedly mounted onsaid shaft, a plurality of circumferentially spaced article-carryingplatforms pivotally mounted on said rotary carrier, means connected tosaid platforms to maintain them horizontal regardless of rotary movementof the carrier; said latter means comprising a stud attached to eachplatform pivotally connecting each platform to said rotary carrier, adisc rotatable about a horizontal axis spaced from the axis of rotationof said rotary carrier, a plurality of levers", each lever having oneend thereof fixedly connected to said stud and having its opposite endpivotally connected to said disc, the pivotal connections between therespective levers and the disc being equally spaced from the center ofrotation of said disc and equally spaced about the periphery thereof,whereby said platforms are maintained horizontal as the rotary carrierand disc rm tate about their respective horizontal axes.

12. An article dispensing apparatus comprising, a

frame, a horizontal shaft rotatably mounted on said "frame, a rotarycarrier fixedly mounted on said shaft, a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced article-carrying platforms, means connected to said platforms tomaintain them horizontal regardless of rotary movement of the carrier,said latter means comprising a stud pivotly connecting each platform tosaid rotary carrier, a disc Iotatable about a horizontal axis, said discbeing rotatable about a horizontal axis spaced from the horizontal axisof rotation of said rotary carrier, a plurality of levers, each leverhaving one end thereof fixedly connected to .said stud, and having itsopposite end pivotly connected to said rotary disc, the pivotalconnections between the respective levers and the rotary disc beingequally spaced from the center of rotation of said disc and equallyspaced about the periphery thereof, whereby said platforms aremaintained horizontal as -the rotary carrier rotates about itshorizontal axis; an article receiving means mounted for reciprocatorymovement transversely of said rotary carrier, said article receivingmeans comprising a movable carriage, means for moving said carriagecontinuously transversely and reciprocably of said carrier, an articlereceiving container mounted on said carriage, a driving means on saidcarriage for reciprocating said container relative to said carriage, thedriving means for said container being adapted to arrest movement ofsaid container relative to said rotary carrier at predetermined spacedintervals along each of the platforms on said carrier, means on saidcontainer for periodically feeding articles from a platform into saidcontainer, and means for periodically rotating said rotary carrier aboutits axis to bring succeeding article retaining platforms into a positionwhereby articles may be fed therefrom into said container.

13. An article receiving apparatus for use with an article dispensingapparatus, said article receiving apparatus comprising, a frame, anarticle retaining means, a

'carriage mounted on said frame, a driving means connected to saidcarriage for continually reciprocating said carriage on said frametransversely of said article retaining means, an article receivingcontainer resiprocably mounted on said carriage, means associated withsaid carriage for reciprocating said container relative to saidcarriage, said latter means being adapted to periodically arrestmovement of said container relative to said frame, and an articlefeeding means, said article feeding means being adapted to feed articlesfrom said retaining means into said container while movement of saidcontainer is arrested relative to the frame.

14. An article receiving apparatus as set forth in claim 13 wherein, thecarriage driving means comprises a double lead-screw having doublespiral cam grooves formed in the surface thereof, said lead-screwrotating in the same direction at all times, a cam follower supportingmeans fixedly attached to said carriage, a cam groove follower attachedto said cam follower supporting means and slidably mounted within one ofthe grooves in said double lead-screw, whereby rotation of said doublelead-screw causes reciprocatory movement of said carriage; saidcontainer driving means comprising, a stationary single lead-screwhaving a single spiral cam groove formed in the surface thereof, arotary cylindrical cam mounted on said single lead screw and having acam follower fixedly attached thereto and slidably mounted within thegroove in said single lead screw, said rotary cam having a cam grooveformed in the surface thereof and extending circumferentially thereof,said rotary cam being rotatably mounted on said carriage, and a camfollower fixedly attached to said container and slidably mounted withinthe cam groove in the surface of said rotary cam, whereby movement ofsaid carriage relative to said single lead screw causes rotation of saidrotary cam and oscillation of said container relative to said carriage,the groove in saidrotary cam being so proportioned as to cause momen- 16tary dwell of said container relative to said frame at predeterminedintervals. p p

15. An apparatus for converting continuous linear motion to intermittentlinear motion comprising, a base member, a carriage, a driving means forlinearly moving said carriage relative to the base member, a containerslidably mounted on said carriage, a lead screw fixedly mounted on saidbase member and extending parallel to the direction of movement of saidcarriage, said lead screw having a single spiral cam groove formed inthe surface thereof, a cylindrical rotary cam mounted on said lead screwand having a cam follower in engagement with the cam groove in said leadscrew, said rotary cam being rotatably mounted on said carriage andlinearly movable therewith, whereby movement of said carriage relativeto said lead screw causes rotation of said cylindrical cam, saidcylindrical cam having a cam groove formed in the surface thereof andextending circumferentially thereof, said cam groove in the cylindricalcam being closed on itself and substantially elliptical in shape, a camfollower fixedly mounted on said container, said latter cam followerbeing in engagement with the cam groove in said cylindrical cam, wherebylinear movement of said carriage causes reciprocating movement of saidcontainer relative to said carriage, said cam groove in the cylindricalcam being so proportioned as to cause momentary dwell of said containerrelative to said base member during continual linear movement of saidcarnage.

16. A means for translating linear reciprocating motion intointermittent rotary motion comprising a reciprocably mounted carriage, adriving means for reciprocating said carriage, a rotary carrierfixedlymounted on a horizontal rotatable shaft for rotation about ahorizontal axis, a pawl and ratchet drive means associated with saidrotary carrier for imparting intermittent rotary motion thereto, a pawland ratchet actuating means on said carriage adapted to actuate saidpawl and ratchet as said carriage reaches its respective limits ofmovement so as to cause intermittent rotary move ment of said carrierabout its horizontal axis.

17. An apparatus for converting reciprocating motion to intermittentrotary motion comprising, a horizontal, rotatable shaft, a linearlymovable carriage, a driving means for said carriage adapted toreciprocate said carriage through a fixed field of movement, a rotarymember fixedly connected to said horizontal shaft, a ratchet wheelfixedly mounted on said horizontal shaft, a rotatable lever, a pawlconnected to one end of said lever for engagement with said ratchetwheel, means, including a cam follower adjacent the respective limits ofmovement of said carriage, for intermittently rotating said rotary levera distance sufiicient to move said pawl from between one pair of teethon the ratchet wheel to a space between an adjacent pair of teeth, apair of oppositely inclined cam tracks on said carriage, said cam tracksbeing adapted respectively to engage said cam followers as said carriagereaches its respective limits of reciprocal travel, whereby actuation ofsaid cam followers causes rotary movement of said rotary lever andthereby movement of said pawl relative to said ratchet wheel in theaforementioned manner, said cam followers being adapted to move free ofthe respective cam tracks after a predetermined angular movement of saidrotary lever, and a means for restoring said rotary lever to its normalposition after said cam followers move free of the respectivecam tracks,whereby said pawl causes said ratchet wheel and therefore said rotarymember to be rotated a predetermined number of degrees.

18. An apparatus for translating reciprocatory move- Inent intocontinuous, unidirectional rotary movement comprising, a reciprocablymounted carriage, a driving means for reciprocating said carriage, afixedly mounted double lead-screw extending parallelto the direction ofgrpvement of said carriage, said lead screw having oppositely spiralledcam grooves formed in the surface thereof, a rotary member mounted onsaid carriage, a cam follower fixedly connected to said rotary member,said cam follower having a portion thereof engaged in one of the camgrooves in the lead-screw, means at the respective ends of saidlead-screw for moving said cam follower from a cam groove spiralled inone direction into the cam groove spiralled in the opposite direction,whereby said rotary member continues to rotate in the same directionwhen the direction of movement of said carriage is reversed.

19. A collating machine comprising, a frame, a rotary carrier mounted onthe frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced plat- [forms mounted on said rotary carrier,each of said platforms being divided into a plurality of paper receivingtrays, a carriage slidably mounted on said frame and movabletransversely of said rotary carrier, a driving means connected to saidcarriage for reciprocating said carriage along said frame in front ofsaid rotary carrier; a container having a plurality of compartmentstherein, said container being movably mounted on said carriage, adriving means for reciprocating said container relative to said carriageWhile said carriage moves relative to said rotary carrier, said lattermeans being adapted to arrest movement of said container relative tosaid rotary carrier for a predetermined interval of time when at leastone of the compartments in said container is in juxtaposed relation withone of the trays in said platform, means for feeding the topmost sheetof paper in each of said trays into a juxtaposed compartment in saidcontainer when said container momentarily pauses in its movementtransversely of said rotary carrier; and a means for rotating saidrotary carrier at predetermined intervals to bring a succeeding platforminto juxtaposed relation with said container.

20. A collating machine comprising, a frame, a rotary carrier mounted onthe frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced platforms mounted on said rotary carrier, eachof said platforms being divided into a plurality of trays each of whichis adapted to hold a stack of sheets of paper, a container divided intoa plurality of sheet receiving compartments each of which is at least aslarge as said trays, said container being movably mounted on said frame,

driving means for moving said container on said frame transversely ofsaid rotary carrier and along one edge of a juxtaposed platform,container arresting means adapted to stop movement thereof for apredetermined interval of time when at least one of said compartments isin juxtaposed position with a corresponding number of trays on saidplatform; and sheet feeding means adapted to feed the topmost sheet ineach tray into a juxtaposed compartment in said container While saidcontainer is in stationary position before a tray, whereby the topmostsheet in each tray is adapted to be fed successively into each of saidcompartments thereby providing a number of sheets in each compartmentequal to the number of trays in said platform.

21. A collating machine as set forth in claim 4 wherein, said cam grooveis closed on itself and extends from one end of said cam to the oppositeend of said cam, the portions of said groove at said opposite ends ofthe cam being at diametrically opposed sides of said cam.

22. A collating machine as set forth in claim 7 Wherein, said cam grooveis closed on itself and extends from one end of said cam to the oppositeend of said cam, the portions of said groove at said opposite ends ofthe cam being at diametrically opposed sides of said cam.

23. An article receiving apparatus as set forth in claim 14 wherein,said cam groove is closed on itself and extends from one end of said camto the opposite end of said cam, the portions of said groove at saidopposite ends of the cam being at diametrically opposed sides of saidcam.

24. An apparatus for translating reciprocatory movement into continuous,unidirectional rotary movement as set forth in claim 18 wherein, therotary member surrounds the fixed double lead screw, and said camfollower comprises, a rod having one end aflixed to said rotary memberand extending substantially at right angles thereto, a rotatable camfollower element extending into one of the grooves in said double leadscrew and being rotatably mounted on the free end of said rod, theportion of said follower element mounted within said groove comprisingan arm extending substantially at right angles to the axis of rotationof the follower element.

No references cited.

